DoT has asked operators and internet service providers to submit inputs by August 20
Social media applications including WhatsApp and Facebook are in the line of fire again as the department of telecommunications (DoT) has asked telecom players as well as internet service providers to explore ways to block such social media applications on internet.
"...once again requested....to explore various possible options and confirm how the Instagram/Facebook/Whatsapp/Telegram and other such mobile applications can be blocked on internet," a letter sent by DoT on July 18 said. The apps will be blocked as "per the provisions of IT Act 2000".
There are provisions in the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000 and Indian Penal Code to deal with objectionable contents posted online.
However, there was no clear reason as to why these applications need to be blocked. It just says that ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) have raised issues regarding such sites. Last month, this matter was also discussed during a meeting with DoT and technical inputs were sought from the ISPs and telecom players on the possibility of blocking certain mobile applications. DNA Money has seen a copy of the letter.
The department has asked operators and internet service providers to submit inputs by August 20.
When contacted, DoT secretary Aruna Sundararajan could not be reached for comments.
There are different versions of what transpired in that meeting. One of the executive privy to the discussions said the issue was to curb child abuse/porn which has been quite rampant online. Even the Supreme Court has issued directions to curb such content online by blocking certain URLs. Besides, a discussion on fake news also came up during the meeting.
Sources within DoT said there is no move to block any such apps.
MeitY has informed DoT that blocking such apps during emergency situations are difficult as they work through multiple IP addresses and on different protocols, which is why a robust solution is required to protect national security.
And being the licensing authority, DoT has initiated the discussion based on a letter received from the Group Coordinator, Cyber Law Division (MeitY) during the second week of July.
The whole development has come after the ministry of IT issued a notice to WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, recently on spurt in fake news following a spate of lynching incidents across the country. The ministry had asked WhatsApp to take immediate measures to prevent the spread of irresponsible and explosive messages. Subsequently, WhatsApp introduced various measures including a label of Forwarded messaging and a limit on sending forwarded messages. WhatsApp also said false news, misinformation and spread of hoax messages are issues that need to be dealt collectively with the government, civil society and technology companies.
The letter also said instructions for blocking of websites/URLs are issued by DoT to Internet service providers based on the direction of Group coordinator, Cyber Law Division under 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act and as per directions from various agencies across India.
Recently, the government also asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe alleged data leakage from Cambridge Analytica's misuse of Facebook users data. "It is suspected that Cambridge Analytica may have been involved in illegally obtaining data of Indians which could be misused. The government has entrusted this issue to be investigated by the CBI for possible violation of Information Technology Act, 2000 and IPC," minister for electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad had said in the Parliament.
Facebook has been facing the ire since the data leakage reports have surfaced. The government had earlier issued notices to Facebook, Cambridge Analytica.
In a letter to DoT, industry body Assocham said curbing of social media sites was "excessive, unnecessary and would greatly harm India's reputation as growing hub of innovation in technology". With the development in technology, tools such as virtual private network allow users to access internet that may have been blocked at TSP/ISP level. A 2018 survey of internet usage suggested at least 25 % of worldwide internet users use or have at least once used a VPN service.
In such a scenario, blocking of applications at the TSP/ISP level may not be an efficacious solution as users can get around the same with increasing ease. The focus on developing mechanisms to block content may be unwarranted, Assocham said.
Online applications contribute much to the digital economy -- a recent study by ICRIER estimated that applications contributed a minimum of $20 billion in 2015-16 to India's GDP. Overall, the internet ecosystem is expected to contribute up to $537.4 billion to the GDP in 2020, of which a minimum of $270.9 billion could be attributed to apps, it said.
COMING UNDER FIRE
- DoT has asked operators and internet service providers to give options on how to block social media apps such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram, Instagram
- Prior to this, ministry of IT has sent notice to WhatsApp over fake news amidst lynching incidents across the country
- Facebook and Cambridge Analytica had earlier received notices as well from IT ministry over data leakage. Government has now asked CBI to probe alleged data leakage from Cambridge Analytica’s misuse of Facebook users data
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